‘Ghostbusters’ Blu-ray Features Extended Cut and Tons of Deleted and Alternate Scenes

With Paul Feig at the helm and a quartet of hilarious women who are great at improvising, it’s not surprising that the upcoming Blu-ray and DVD release of the Ghostbusters reboot is packed with additional scenes, outtakes, deleted scenes, gag reels and — as many fans hoped — an extended cut of the film. We won’t have a chance to see any of these bonus materials until October, but it should be interesting for those who felt as though Feig’s theatrical version may have been a little too safe.

I’m mostly speaking for myself, but it did seem like the Ghostbusters reboot, while mostly enjoyable, wasn’t nearly as humorous as it could’ve been. When you have Paul Feig behind a camera and Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones in front of it, your movie should be a little funnier. Even The Heat, which is considered lesser Feig by most (and has a screenplay by Ghostbusters scribe Katie Dippold), is more relentless with its jokes — and a little more biting (McCarthy’s line about doll shoes is still one of the funniest things she’s ever uttered).

But Ghostbusters feels like it may have been watered down to create a safer, more “accessible” and inoffensive film — whether that was due to the bizarrely sexist backlash or an attempt to make a film that was more family-friendly, I don’t know. The Blu-ray and DVD release features an extended cut (previously teased by Feig), as well as a sizable amount of deleted scenes, alternate takes and outtakes:

Ghostbusters Extended Edition & Theatrical Version

2 Hysterically Haunting Gag Reels

4 Unearthed deleted scenes

11 Totally Possessed Alternate Scenes and more than 60 minutes of additional extended and alternate scenes with Ultraviolet download

Even with a cast of seasoned comedic actors who love to goof around, that’s a lot of additional material that didn’t make it into the final cut. While Feig has been nothing but positive about his Ghostbusters experience, it’s hard not to suspect that there was a much funnier — and better — version of this film that never made it to theaters, especially when compared to his previous movies.

But hey, who knows? Maybe these outtakes and deleted scenes won’t prove anything aside from the fact that everyone had fun making a new Ghostbusters movie. Or maybe they’ll prove that a slightly different and superior cut does exist, and you can join me as I grieve for a movie that could’ve been more than just “fine.”

Ghostbusters hits DVD, Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray (in a 4k combo pack) on October 11. Here’s the official cover: